System and method for calculating an order flowthrough

ABSTRACT

A process that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, determining exception data associated with exceptions of orders, including data about order fallout of an order flowthrough. Exclusions and exceptions associated with the plurality of orders are determined, wherein the exclusions are order exceptions that do not count against the order flowthrough. The exception data are updated responsive to the exclusions to remove excused order exceptions. Order data is determined that includes the exceptions, and an apportionment is generated of the order exceptions counted against the flowthrough of the orders. A weighted flowthrough count is determined from the apportionment of the order exceptions, and issue tables are created based on one of the exception data, the apportionment of the order exceptions, the weighted count, or combinations thereof. Other embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/790,549 filed May 28, 2010, by Lampe et al., entitled “System andMethod for Calculating an Order Flowthrough.” All sections of theaforementioned application(s) are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to communications networks, andmore particularly relates to a system and a method for calculating anorder flowthrough.

BACKGROUND

An ordering system can include multiple software and/or hardware systemsfor processing orders. During an ordering process, a problem may arisefor an order at a particular software and/or hardware system. Such aproblem or fallout may result in an exception being created for theorder. When the exception is created, the order may need manualintervention from an individual associated with a backend of theordering system to correct the problem, the order may be resubmittedthrough automated backend process, or the order may be canceled and needto be resubmitted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,elements illustrated in the Figures have not necessarily been drawn toscale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements areexaggerated relative to other elements. Embodiments incorporatingteachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respectto the drawings presented herein, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ordering system backend;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary screen shot of a graphical user interface homepage associated with the ordering system backend;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for calculating an orderflowthrough; and

FIG. 4 is an illustrative embodiment of a general computer system.

The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicatessimilar or identical items.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will bedescribed with particular reference to the presently preferred exemplaryembodiments. However, it should be understood that this class ofembodiments provides only a few examples of the many advantageous usesof the innovative teachings herein. In general, statements made in thespecification of the present application do not necessarily delimit anyof the various claimed inventions. Moreover, some statements may applyto some inventive features but not to others.

FIG. 1 shows an ordering system backend 100 including an ordering systemmodule 102, an exclusion system module 104, an exception module 106, anissue management module 108, a summary system module 110, and agraphical user interface (GUI) 112. The ordering system module 102 is incommunication with the exception system module 106 and with the summarysystem module 110. The exclusion system module 104 is in communicationwith the exception system module 106, which in turn is in communicationwith the issue management module 108 and with the summary system module110. The issue management module 108 is in communication with the GUI112, through the use of issue tables 114. The summary system module 110is in communication with the GUI 112, through the use of summary tables116. The ordering system module 102, the exclusion system module 104,the exception module 106, the issue management module 108, the summarysystem module 110 can be hardware implemented in separate devices or canbe combined into one or more devices. The GUI 112 can be located on adisplay device.

During operation of the ordering system backend 100, the ordering systemmodule 102 can retrieve ordering data 118, which can include new orders,completed orders, pending orders, and the like. Pending orders can beorders that are still in processing, and that have not reached aparticular activity in the ordering process, such as a close orderaction, which can be used as a marker for a completed order. A completedorder can be an order that has been processed beyond a particularactivity, such as the close order action. The orders can be for a numberof services or products, such as Internet Protocol television (IPTV)service, Internet data service, cellular telephone service, a set-topbox device, a residential gateway, a cellular telephone, or the like. Anactivity can be any individual processing step along the order flowpath, such as ordering, provisioning, installation, and hand-off tobilling The ordering system module 102 can incrementally retrieve orreceive the ordering data 118. For example, if the ordering systemmodule 102 retrieves or receives the ordering data 118 for a particulartime frame ending at 11:30:00 am, then the next time the ordering systemmodule retrieves or receives the ordering data the new time frame canbegin at 11:30:01 am, such that the ordering data is not duplicated inthe order system module.

The ordering system module 102 can then utilize the ordering data 118combined with the exception data 120 to create ordering tables that canshow the flowthrough of orders in the ordering system backend 100.Flowthrough can be an indication of success or failure of an orderduring a process flow. Thus, a successful flowthrough can indicate thatan order has completed processing without halting or needing humanintervention. Alternatively, a failure or exception can mean that anorder was halted during processing because of an error, such as anun-excluded exception, or other reason that required human interventionfor the order to continue processing.

The exception system module 106 can generate, retrieve, or receiveexception data 120 from multiple systems for existing orders or generatean exception based on business rules, and the exception data ispreferably generated, retrieved, or received during the same time periodas the ordering data 118. The exception data 120 can include exceptionsassociated with non-completed orders listed in the ordering data 118. Anexception can be created when a system or an application has encountereda problem with the order and has provided a message giving informationabout the problem. Additionally, an exception may or may not countagainst flowthrough depending on information received from the exclusionsystem module 104, which in turn can create or retrieve both automatedexclusions 122 and manual exclusions 124. An exclusion can be a businessdecision made to excuse or discount an ordering exception from countingagainst flowthrough. The automated exclusions 122 can be determined whenan ordering exception is cleared by an automated process, such as anautomatic retry process. Therefore, a business decision can be made thata particular exception should not count against flowthrough. Thus, anorder that has an exception which is then excluded can be given a goodflowthrough standing. The manual exclusions 124 can be orders that areexcluded from counting against flowthrough by an individual of theordering system backend 100.

When all of the exclusions, both automated and manual, have beengenerated, received, or retrieved, the exclusion system module 104 cansend the exclusions to the exception system module 106. The exceptionsystem module 106 can then determine which of the exceptions in theexception data 120 have been excluded based on the automated exclusions122 and/or the manual exclusions 124. The exceptions that have beenexcluded can then be effectively removed from the exception data 122.Thus, based on the exclusion information from the exclusion systemmodule 104, the exception system module 106 can update the ordering data118 to determine orders with un-excluded exceptions or errors. Forexample, if an order listed in the ordering data 118 has an associatedexception in the exception data 120 that is not excluded, the exceptionsystem module 106 in communication with the ordering system module 102can determine that the order should count against flowthrough. Thus, anexception can be an error if it does not have a corresponding exclusion,and only errors can count against flowthrough. The exception systemmodule 106 can then send the updated exception data 120 to the orderingsystem module 102 and to the issue management module 108.

The issue management module 108 can utilize the updated exception datato aid in root cause analysis and calculate a weighted count for theflowthrough. The weighted count can be a flowthrough value that is basedon apportioning the un-excluded exceptions. For example, if the updatedexception data shows an order with no flowthrough and that order hasfour errors, then these errors would each have a weight of twenty fivepercent, such as one order divided by four errors. The issue managementmodule 108 can also calculate a flowthrough impact percentage. Theflowthrough impact percentage can be a calculation of the percentage offlowthrough errors that are caused by a specific error or issue. Forexample, an order can have three exceptions that arise during a handleinventory activity, and two of the exceptions can be the same and onecan be different. The one exception that is different may be excludable,and the two similar exceptions may not be excludable. Therefore, theorder can fail flowthrough because of the two exceptions that are notexcludable, and the flowthrough impact percentage can be shared acrossthe two non-excludable exceptions. The issue management module 108 canperform an order level analysis showing that the handle inventoryactivity carries one hundred percent of the flowthrough impact for theorder. The issue management module 108 can also perform an error levelanalysis to show that the true area of impact is at only two of thethree exceptions, and each of the two errors carry fifty percent of theflowthrough impact. The issue management module 108 can then createissue tables 114, for display on the GUI 112, showing differentactivities and errors that carry certain percentages of the flowthroughimpact. Thus, the issue tables 114 can indicate activities that need tobe fixed to prevent flowthrough errors.

The summary system module 110 can use the updated order data to createsummary tables 116 for display on the GUI 112. The summary tables 116can include ordering tables, exception tables, exclusion tables, and thelike. The summary tables 116 can be displayed on the GUI 112. Thesummary system module 110 can also calculate a leading flowthroughindictor (LFI) for an order. The LFI can be a percentage calculationbased on the orders taken on a specified date that at the time of thecalculation that still have good flowthrough standing, divided by thetotal number of orders taken for that specified date. The higher thisindicator is on a consistent basis the better the chance that theflowthrough percent will still be high at the time orders are closingout. The summary system module 110 can also calculate a flowthroughpercentage, which can be determined by dividing the number of orders ina category that have achieved successful flowthrough during a particulartime period by the total number of orders within the same categoryduring the same time period. For example, a flowthrough percentage canbe a number of orders with good flowthrough taken during a day dividedby a total number of orders taken that day.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the GUI 112 including a summarytable 116, management tabs 202, an order volume graph 204, an orderflowthrough graph 206, and an orders taken graph 208. The managementtabs 202 can include tabs for different services, such as IPTV service,digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet service, and plain old telephoneservice (POTS). The management tabs 202 can also include tabs forcontrolling the different modules of the ordering system backend 100,such as the exclusion system module 104 shown as Exclusions Managementtab 210, and the issue management module 108 shown as Issue ManagementTool tab 212.

When an individual associated with the ordering system backend 100selects one of the management tabs 202, such as Uverse Dashboard tab214, the GUI 112 can display the summary table 116 associated with theorders for that service. For example, the summary table 116 can showdata for the leading flowthrough percentage (LFI), the flowthroughpercentage of orders closed, the daily exceptions, and the like for theorders associated with IPTV service. The GUI 112 can also display othermetrics associated with the service, such as the order volume graph 204,the order flowthrough graph 206, and the orders taken graph 208. Thus,the GUI 112 can display information associated with the flowthrough oforders and other metrics for each of the services or products that aremonitored by the ordering system backend 100.

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of a method 300 for calculating an orderflowthrough. At block 302, incremental data about a plurality of ordersis retrieved or received by an ordering system module. For example, ifthe incremental data is retrieved or received for a particular timeframe ending at 11:30:00 am, then the next time the incremental data isretrieved or received the new time frame can begin at 11:30:01 am, suchthat the ordering data is not duplicated in the order system module.Incremental data about exceptions for the plurality of orders isgenerated, retrieved, or received at block 304. The incremental dataabout the exceptions is preferably generated, retrieved, or receivedduring the same time period as the incremental data for the plurality oforders. At block 306, the order data is loaded. Exceptions for existingorders are loaded at block 308. At block 310, automated and manualexclusions are generated, retrieved, or received. An exclusion can be abusiness decision made to excuse or discount an ordering exception fromcounting against flowthrough.

At block 312, the automated and the manual exclusions are loaded. Theexception data is updated based on the exclusions at block 314. Errorand exception counts are rolled up through all sublevels of order to theorder level at block 316. At block 318, all summary level data that hasbeen affected by the new order, pending orders, exception data, orexclusion data is calculated. Summary tables including the flowthroughcounts and other metrics are output at block 320. The summary tables arepreferably output to a graphical user interface. At block 322, issuetables are created and output. The issue tables can be created based onthe updated exception data, and can show activities that need to befixed to prevent flowthrough errors.

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative embodiment of a general computer system400. The computer system 400 can include a set of instructions that canbe executed to cause the computer system to perform any one or more ofthe methods or computer based functions disclosed herein. The computersystem 400 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected, suchas by using a network, to other computer systems or peripheral devices.

In a networked deployment, the computer system may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 400 can alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, an STB, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer,a desktop computer, a communications device, a wireless telephone, aland-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner, a facsimilemachine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, a web appliance,a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machine capable ofexecuting a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. In a particular embodiment, thecomputer system 400 can be implemented using electronic devices thatprovide voice, video or data communication. Further, while a singlecomputer system 400 is illustrated, the term “system” shall also betaken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems thatindividually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructionsto perform one or more computer functions.

The computer system 400 may include a processor 402, such as a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both.Moreover, the computer system 400 can include a main memory 404 and astatic memory 406 that can communicate with each other via a bus 408. Asshown, the computer system 400 may further include a video display unit410 such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emittingdiode (OLED), a flat panel display, a solid state display, or a cathoderay tube (CRT). Additionally, the computer system 400 may include aninput device 412 such as a keyboard, and a cursor control device 414such as a mouse. The computer system 400 can also include a disk driveunit 416, a signal generation device 418 such as a speaker or remotecontrol, and a network interface device 420 to communicate with anetwork 426. In a particular embodiment, the disk drive unit 416 mayinclude a computer-readable medium 422 in which one or more sets ofinstructions 424, such as software, can be embedded. Further, theinstructions 424 may embody one or more of the methods or logic asdescribed herein. In a particular embodiment, the instructions 424 mayreside completely, or at least partially, within the main memory 404,the static memory 406, and/or within the processor 402 during executionby the computer system 400. The main memory 404 and the processor 402also may include computer-readable media.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.Additionally, the illustrations are merely representational and may notbe drawn to scale. Certain proportions within the illustrations may beexaggerated, while other proportions may be minimized Accordingly, thedisclosure and the FIGs. are to be regarded as illustrative rather thanrestrictive.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the present disclosed subject matter. Thus, tothe maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of the present disclosedsubject matter is to be determined by the broadest permissibleinterpretation of the following claims and their equivalents, and shallnot be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided with the understanding thatit will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can beseen that various features are grouped together in a single embodimentfor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method ofdisclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that theclaimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited ineach claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subjectmatter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimedsubject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a memory to store executableinstructions; and a processor in communication with the memory, whereinthe processor, responsive to executing the instructions, facilitatesperformance of operations comprising: determining exception dataassociated with order exceptions of a plurality of orders; determining aplurality of exclusions associated with the order exceptions, whereinthe plurality of exclusions are the order exceptions that do not countagainst a flowthrough of the plurality of orders; updating the exceptiondata, to obtain updated exception data, responsive to the plurality ofexclusions, to remove excused order exceptions from the exception data;determining order data that includes the excused order exceptions andthe updated exception data; generating an apportionment of the orderexceptions counted against the flowthrough of the plurality of orders;determining, from the apportionment of the order exceptions, a weightedflowthrough count; and creating issue tables based on one of theexception data, the apportionment of the order exceptions, the weightedcount, or combinations thereof.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise: updating the issue tables based on theupdated exception data, wherein the issue tables show activities thatcause order errors; and outputting the issue tables.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the operations further comprise calculating aflowthrough impact percentage, wherein the flowthrough impact percentagecomprises a calculation of a percentage of flowthrough errors that arecaused by a specific error.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise: loading the order data about the pluralityof orders; and loading the exception data for the plurality of orders.5. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprisereceiving order data about the plurality of orders, wherein the orderdata includes a number of orders that have been completed and a numberof orders that have not been completed, and wherein the plurality ofexclusions includes one of automated exclusions, manual exclusions orboth.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:deriving summary level data based on the plurality of orders and theupdated exception data, wherein the summary level data is affected byone of new orders, the exception data, or the plurality of exclusions;creating summary tables based on the summary level data; and providingone of the summary tables, the issue tables or both to a graphical userinterface.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the order data and theexception data are received incrementally.
 8. A method comprising:determining, by a system comprising a processor, a plurality ofexclusions associated with order exceptions, wherein the plurality ofexclusions correspond to a first apportionment of order exceptions thatare not counted against a flowthrough of a plurality of orders;determining, by the system, order exception data associated with theplurality of orders, wherein the exception data includes data about theorder exceptions that either are excused or are counted againstflowthrough of the plurality of orders; generating, by the system, asecond apportionment of the order exceptions that are counted againstthe flowthrough of the plurality of orders; determining, by the system,from one of the first or second apportionments of the order exceptions,a weighted flowthrough count; and creating, by the system, an issuetable based on one of the order exception data, the first or secondapportionments of the order exceptions, the weighted count, orcombinations thereof.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:receiving ordering data for the plurality of orders, wherein theordering data includes new orders, completed orders, canceled orders,pending orders, and order flowthrough information; and determining, bythe system, activities that cause the ordering errors.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the issue table shows the activities that cause theordering errors.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:calculating summary level data based on the plurality of orders and theexception data; creating summary tables based on the summary level data,wherein the summary level data is affected by the new orders, pendingorders, the exception data associated with the plurality of orders, andthe plurality of exclusions; and providing, by the system, one of thesummary tables, the issue tables or both to a display device.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising providing, by the system, aflowthrough impact percentage, wherein the flowthrough impact percentageis a calculation of a percentage of flowthrough errors that are causedby a specific error.
 13. The method of claim 8, further comprisingreceiving, by the system, the ordering data incrementally.
 14. Amachine-readable storage medium comprising executable instructions thatwhen executed by a processor, cause the processor to facilitateperformance of operations comprising: determining exception dataassociated with exceptions of a plurality of orders, wherein theexception data include data about order fallout of a flowthrough of theplurality of orders; determining a plurality of exclusions associatedwith the plurality of orders and a plurality of exceptions, wherein theplurality of exclusions are order exceptions that do not count againstthe flowthrough of the plurality of orders; updating the exception dataresponsive to the plurality of exclusions, to remove excused orderexceptions, resulting in updated exception data without the excusedorder exceptions; determining order data that includes the plurality ofexceptions; generating an apportionment of the order exceptions countedagainst the flowthrough of the plurality of orders; determining, fromthe apportionment of the order exceptions, a weighted flowthrough count;and creating issue tables based on one of the exception data, theapportionment of the order exceptions, the weighted count, orcombinations thereof.
 15. The machine-readable storage medium of claim14, wherein creating the issue tables is based on the updated exceptiondata, and wherein the issue tables show activities that cause the ordererrors, the operations further comprising: deriving summary level databased on the plurality of orders and the updated exception data, whereinthe summary level data is affected by new orders, the exception data,and the plurality of exclusions; creating summary tables based on thesummary level data; and providing the summary tables to a graphical userinterface, wherein the summary tables include metrics comprisingflowthrough counts.
 16. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 14,wherein the operations further comprise calculating a flowthrough impactpercentage, wherein the flowthrough impact percentage is a calculationof a percentage of flowthrough errors that are cause by one of aspecific error or issue.
 17. The machine-readable storage medium ofclaim 14, wherein the operations further comprise: loading the orderdata about the plurality of orders; and loading the exception data forthe plurality of orders.
 18. The machine-readable storage medium ofclaim 14, wherein the plurality of exclusions includes one of automatedexclusions, manual exclusions or both.
 19. The machine-readable storagemedium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise: receivingorder data about the plurality of orders, wherein the order dataincludes a number of orders that have been completed and a number oforders that have not been completed, and providing the issue tables to agraphical user interface.
 20. The machine-readable storage medium ofclaim 14, wherein one of the order data, the exception data or both arereceived incrementally.